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Tackling the Opioid Crisis and the Vapid Vaping Debate, with Sally Satel

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Dr. Sally Satel

The opioid crisis has been prominent in the news for the last several years, while more recently the controversy over vaping has erupted to new heights, with the Trump Administration proposing to ban many vaping products. There are some glaring contradictions and ironies between our attitudes and policy responses to both issues, but it takes someone of Sally Satel’s perception to notice these dimensions.

Sally Satel, a resident fellow of the American Enterprise Institute, practicing psychiatrist and drug treatment expert, and author of several fine books on the contemporary politics of medicine, has been studying both the opioid crisis and the vaping controversy for some time, and joins us today to walk through some of the main aspects of both issues. Interested listeners should see her recent article in The Atlantic on “The Truth About Painkiller Addiction” for more background.

I’ve heard this guest on another podcast. Very interesting and informative. I have some family members who have switched from smoking to vaping and see it as a giant step in the right direction. But knowing my teenage self of yore, I would have been very intrigued by vaping – and would have even convinced myself that it was okay because it was “healthy.”

Interesting guest. Helped to understand the opioid crisis which probably should be the crises since it sounds like it started one way and changed to another. And why is vaping so bad as opposed to decriminalizing/legalizing marijuana? I feel like the vaping crisis has been pushed to avoid discussing the downsides of marijuana and drugs generally.